Siege of Rheinberg (1586–1590)

Siege of Rheinberg (1586–1590)
	Part of the Eighty Years' War and the Cologne War
	; The Siege of Rheinberg of 1590 by Peter Ernst von Mansfeld.
Date	13 August 1586 – 3 February 1590
Location	Rheinberg (present-day Germany)
Result	Spanish victory
Belligerents
United Provinces; England; Electorate of Cologne; (Gebhard Truchsess)	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Maarten Schenck; Francis Vere; (From 1590)	Duke of Parma; Count of Mansfeld

The siege of Rheinberg 1586–1590, also known as the capture of Rheinberg of 1590, took place at the strategic Cologne enclave of Rheinberg (present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany), one of the principal crossing-points over the Rhine on the stretch between the Electorate of Cologne and the Dutch border,^[3] between 13 August 1586 and 3 February 1590, during the Eighty Years' War, the Cologne War, and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604).^[1]^[2] After an initial siege in 1586, and a long blocking by the Spanish forces until September 1589, Don Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (Spanish: Alejandro Farnesio), commander-in-chief of the Spanish army, sent a substantial force, under Peter Ernst, Count of Mansfeld, to besiege Rheinberg.^[2]^[4] Despite the efforts by Maarten Schenck van Nydeggen (until his death at the Assault on Nijmegen on 10 August 1589),^[5] and Sir Francis Vere (from 1590), to relieve the fortress city, the Protestant garrison finally surrendered to the Spaniards on 3 February 1590.^[5]^[6]^[7]

On 19 August 1597 the Dutch army led by Maurice of Nassau captured Rheinberg for the States in his successful campaign of 1597,^[8] but the following year the Spanish Army of Flanders led by Don Francisco de Mendoza retook the strategic place, forcing the garrison to surrender.^[9]

Notes

^ ^a ^b Wilson p.210
^ ^a ^b ^c Israel p.29
^ He (Duke of Parma) then moved north to capture Rheinberg in February 1590, a Cologne enclave that provided access across the Rhine and facilitated the subsequent campaigns to outflank the Dutch Republic from the east. Wilson p.210
^ Hennes pp.177–179
^ ^a ^b Brodek pp.400–401
^ It was the occupation of Rheinberg by Spanish troops in that month which marked the inauguration of the fixed network of Spanish garrisons in north-west Germany. Israel p.29
^ Luc Duerloo p.46
^ Israel pp.29–30
^ Juan Valera p.521

Hennes, Johann Heinrich. Der Kampf um das Erzstift Köln zur Zeit der Kurfürsten. Köln: DuMont-Schauberg. 1878. (in German)
Benians, Ernest Alfred, et al. The Cambridge Modern History. New York: MacMillan. 1905.
Hamish Wilson, Peter. The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy. First published 2009 by Penguin Group. ISBN 978-0-674-03634-5
Brodek, Theodor V. Socio-Political Realities of the Holy Roman Empire. Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 1971.
Luc Duerloo. Dynasty and Piety: Archduke Albert (1598–1621) and Habsburg Political Culture in an Age of Religious Wars. MPG Books Group. UK.
Parker, Geoffrey. The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 1567–1659. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2004. ISBN 978-0521543927
Juan Valera. Homenaje a Menéndez Pelayo. Estudios de Erudición Española. Madrid, 1899. (in Spanish)
Jonathan I. Israel. Conflicts of Empires: Spain, the Low Countries and the Struggle for World Supremacy 1585–1713. London. 1997. ISBN 1-85285-161-9